Counting of votes begins for assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh

The counting of votes has begun for Assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. Elaborate and foolproof arrangements have been made at all the counting centres. Election Commission said, the results will be updated periodically on the Commission's website to display the current round-wise trends and results of each constituency. People can also access the trends and results on the Commission's VoterHelpline Mobile App.

In Gujarat, 37 counting centres have been set up covering 182  seats. More than 800 personnel have been deployed for the counting which includes 182 observers. A micro observer, counting supervisor and counting assistant are deployed at each counting table. The entire counting process is being videograph.

Fate of 1 thousand 621 candidates including Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, his cabinet colleagues such as Harsh Sanghavi and Jitu Bhai Vaghani, Aam Aadmi Party’s Chief Ministerial candidate Isudan Gadhvi, youth leaders Hardik Patel, Jignesh Mevani, Alpesh Thakor, Alpesh Kathiria and Gopal Italia will be decided today. The elections will also be decisive for women leaders Riva Ba Jadeja, Manisha Vakil, Nimisha Ben Suthar.

The state is witnessing a triangular contest this time, with the entry of Aam Aadmi Party. There is a tough fight between BJP, Congress and Aam Aadmi Party on many seats including Dwaraka, Porbanadar, Khmabalia, Tharad, Dariyapur, Varachha, Katargam, Dhoraji and Amreli where senior leaders from all the three parties are in the fray. All eyes are



on the performance of Aam Aadmi Party which is trying to make inroads in the state as the third alternative. 

It will also be interesting to see whether the BJP is able to improve its performance compared to 2017 polls and will Congress retain its seats in Saurashtra and North Gujarat and Tribal Belt. In the last elections, BJP had won 99 seats while Congress had got 77 and 3 seat went to independents. This time, President of Bharatiya Tribal Party and the sitting MLA of Jhagadiya seat Chhotubhai Vasava has contested as an independent. Similarly the lone winner of NCP from Kutiyana in 2017, Kandhal Jadeja is in the fray as Samajvadi Party candidate. Amid this, the final political picture will be clear by end of the day.

In Himachal Pradesh, 68 counting halls have been set up at 59 places. Mobile phone, iPad, laptop, and other recording devices have been banned at the counting centres.

According to election commission 1,12834 postal ballots have been received so far. EVM counting will start once the counting of ballot papers is over. The trend is expected to start coming at around 9 am and the first result is likely to be declared at around 11 am. 

However, the picture will become more clear by 2 pm. If we talk about the counting arrangements, 68 counting halls have been set up at 59 places in the entire state, in which 10,000 employees including security personnel are deployed for smooth and uninterrupted counting.